We Promise to Be Brave—Will You Join Us?

“It’s certainly better to look dumb and learn than to keep quiet and stay uninformed. It’s called the courage to learn.”
(N. Merchant: The New How)

Creating a new, innovative, and winning strategy requires comprehensive understanding, open dialogue, and collaborative ideation. Every idea should have the space to be heard, and individuals should feel empowered to defend their perspectives passionately. Questions of all kinds should be encouraged, and people’s courage to engage in the process with their diverse thoughts must be supported.

Unfortunately, many companies fall short of this ideal and inadvertently foster a culture of silence. If, for instance, a questioner or challenger in an executive meeting is silenced or even ridiculed, it may maintain the illusion of consensus, but it stifles innovation. A commonly heard phrase, “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions,” while intended as positive and action-oriented, often feeds into this culture of silence.

Do you recognize this challenge in your organization? We dare to say that many do (even if they wouldn’t admit it out loud).

What would it take to break the cycle of silence and encourage everyone to challenge and question practices that don’t move the company forward?

Only through conflict do we learn. And only through courage can we change course.

We promise to be brave. Will you join us?